Shipping cover for staple cartridge

ABSTRACT

A shipping cover for a staple cartridge includes a body having an upper surface and a lower surface that is in close opposition to the staple cartridge when the shipping cover is secured to the staple cartridge. The shipping cover includes a latch that is received within a body of the staple cartridge to secure the shipping cover to the cartridge body. The latch is manually movable by a clinician to facilitate removal of the shipping cover from the staple cartridge.

FIELD

This disclosure is directed to surgical stapling devices and, more particularly, to shipping covers for staple cartridges for use with surgical stapling devices.

BACKGROUND

Surgical stapling devices for ejecting staples to join tissue or tissue segments in a fast and efficient manner in a variety of surgical procedures, e.g., anastomoses procedures, are well known. Typically, a surgical stapling device includes a tool assembly including a cartridge assembly and an anvil. The cartridge assembly includes a channel member and a staple cartridge that is received within a cavity defined by the channel member. The staple cartridge supports a plurality of staples and can be removable from the cavity of the channel member to facilitate reuse of the stapling device.

Typically, a staple cartridge includes a cartridge body, staples, pushers, and an actuation sled. The cartridge body defines a central knife slot and staple receiving slots that are positioned on each side of the central knife slot. The staples and pushers are received within the staple receiving slots and the actuation sled is movable through the cartridge body into engagement with the pushers to lift and eject the staples from the staple receiving slots.

In order to prevent the staples from exiting the staple receiving slots prior to insertion of the staple cartridge into the channel member, a first side of the cartridge body supports a staple guard and a second side of the cartridge body supports a shipping cover. The staple guard prevents the staples and pushers from falling from the first side of the cartridge body and the shipping cover prevents the staples and pushers from falling from the second side of the cartridge body. The shipping cover is removable from the cartridge body prior to firing of the stapling device. In order to ensure that the staples remain entirely within the cartridge prior to firing of the stapling device, the shipping cover must be securely fastened to the cartridge body to minimize any gap that may be defined between the shipping cover and the second side of the cartridge body.

Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the suturing arts for a shipping cover that can be securely fastened to a cartridge body of the staple cartridge with minimal gap between the shipping cover and the cartridge body.

SUMMARY

Aspects of this disclosure are directed to a shipping cover having a body that defines a longitudinal axis and has an upper surface, a lower surface, a proximal portion, a distal portion, and edges that are parallel to the longitudinal axis. The body defines a cutout. The lower surface supports a latch that extends from the lower surface along the longitudinal axis and upwardly through the cutout. The latch movable within the cutout from a latched position to an unlatched position.

Other aspects of the disclosure are directed to a staple cartridge and cover assembly that includes a staple cartridge and a shipping cover. The staple cartridge includes a cartridge body, staples, and pushers. The cartridge body defines a central knife slot and staple receiving pockets positioned on each side of the central knife slot. The shipping cover is releasably coupled to the staple cartridge and includes a body that defines a longitudinal axis and has an upper surface, a lower surface, a proximal portion, a distal portion, and edges that are parallel to the longitudinal axis. The body defines a cutout. The lower surface of the body supports a latch that extends from the lower surface along the longitudinal axis and upwardly through the cutout. The latch is movable within the cutout from a latched position to an unlatched position. The latch is received within the central knife slot of the cartridge body and engages the cartridge body in the latched position to retain the latch within the central knife slot.

In aspects of the disclosure, the body of the shipping cover includes flexible tabs that extend downwardly from the edges of the body and include laterally extending engagement portions.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the cutout includes a distal portion, a proximal portion, and a restriction, and the latch includes an upwardly extending portion that is received in the distal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the latched position and is received in the proximal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the unlatched position.

In certain aspects of the disclosure, the restriction is dimensioned to retain the latch in the unlatched position.

In aspects of the disclosure, the restriction is defined by protrusions extending from the body into the cutout.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the lower surface supports a longitudinal rib that extends downwardly from the lower surface and is aligned with the longitudinal axis.

In certain aspects of the disclosure, the latch includes a downwardly extending portion that is coupled to the lower surface of the body of the shipping cover and a living hinge that interconnects the downwardly extending portion and the upwardly extending portion.

In aspects of the disclosure, the upwardly extending portion supports a finger engagement member that is positioned above the upper surface of the body.

In aspects of the disclosure, the distal portion of the body includes a distal extension.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the latch is formed of a resilient material and is biased towards the latched position.

Other aspects of the disclosure will be appreciated from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the disclosed shipping cover are described herein below with reference to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a tool assembly of a surgical stapling with a staple cartridge and a shipping cover received within a channel member of the tool assembly and the shipping cover secured to the staple cartridge;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view from above of the staple cartridge and shipping cover shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective exploded view of the staple cartridge and shipping cover shown in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4A is a side perspective view from below of the shipping cover shown in FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 4B is a side perspective view from above of the shipping cover shown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a distal portion of the shipping cover shown in FIG. 4A with a latch of the shipping cover in a locked position;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 6-6 of FIG. 3 ;

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view from above of the distal portion of the shipping cover shown in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view from below of the staple cartridge and shipping cover shown in FIG. 1 with the shipping cover secured to the staple cartridge;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line 9-9 of FIG. 8 ;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the central longitudinal of the staple cartridge and shipping cover with the shipping cover secured to the staple cartridge and the latch member of the shipping cover in a latched position;

FIG. 11 is a side perspective view of the tool assembly and shipping cover shown in FIG. 1 separated from a channel member of the tool assembly;

FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view taken through the central longitudinal axis of the tool assembly shown in FIG. 11 with the shipping cover secured to the staple cartridge and the latch member of the shipping cover in an unlatched position;

FIG. 13 is a side perspective view of the tool assembly shown in FIG. 11 with the staple cartridge received within the channel member of the tool assembly and the shipping cover removed from the staple cartridge; and

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the distal portion of the shipping cover shown in FIG. 13 with the latch of the shipping cover in an unlatched position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed shipping cover will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed aspects are merely exemplary of the disclosure and may be embodied in various forms. Well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the disclosure in unnecessary detail. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the disclosure in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.

In this description, the term “proximal” is used generally to refer to that portion of the device that is closer to a clinician, while the term “distal” is used generally to refer to that portion of the device that is farther from the clinician. In addition, the term “endoscopic” is used generally used to refer to endoscopic, laparoscopic, arthroscopic, and/or any other procedure conducted through a small diameter incision or cannula. Further, the term “clinician” is used generally to refer to medical personnel including doctors, nurses, and support personnel. Moreover, directional terms such as front, rear, upper, lower, top, bottom, and similar terms are used to assist in understanding the description and are not intended to limit the disclosure.

This disclosure is directed to a shipping cover for a staple cartridge. The shipping cover includes a body having an upper surface and a lower surface that is in close opposition to the staple cartridge when the shipping cover is secured to the staple cartridge. The shipping cover includes a latch that is received within a body of the staple cartridge to retain the shipping cover in securement to the cartridge body. The latch is manually movable by a clinician to facilitate removal of the shipping cover from the staple cartridge.

FIG. 1 illustrates a tool assembly 10 of a surgical stapling device which includes a cartridge assembly 12 and an anvil 14. The cartridge assembly 12 and the anvil 14 are coupled together such that the tool assembly 10 can pivot between an open position (FIG. 1 ) and a clamped position. The cartridge assembly 12 includes a channel member 16 that defines a cavity 18 (FIG. 11 ) and a staple cartridge 20 that is removably received within the cavity 18 of the channel member 16. The staple cartridge 20 supports a shipping cover 100 which together form a staple cartridge and cover assembly 21.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 which includes the staple cartridge 20 and the shipping cover 100. The staple cartridge 20 includes a cartridge body 22, staples 24, pushers 26, a staple guard 28, and an actuation sled 30. The cartridge body 22 includes an upper tissue engaging surface 22 a and defines a central knife slot 32 and staple receiving pockets 34 positioned on each side of the central knife slot 32. The central knife slot 32 and the staple receiving pockets 34 open onto the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22. The central knife slot 32 has a distal end 32 a that is positioned proximally of the distal end of the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22.

The staples 24 and the pushers 26 are received in respective staple receiving pockets 34 of the cartridge body 22. The staple guard 28 is coupled to a bottom of the cartridge body 22 which is opposite to the upper tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22 to retain the staples 24, pushers 26, and actuation sled 30 within the cartridge body 22. When the stapling device (not shown) is fired, the actuation sled 30 is movable from a retracted position to an advanced position into sequential engagement with the pushers 26 to eject the staples 24 from within the cartridge body 22 through the tissue engaging surface 22 a towards the anvil 14 (FIG. 1 ). U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,139 (hereinafter “the 139 patent”) discloses construction and operation of a suitable staple cartridge in further detail including operation of the actuation sled and pushers.

FIGS. 4A-7 illustrate the shipping cover 100 which include a body 102 having an upper surface 104 (FIG. 4B) and a lower surface 106 (FIG. 4A). The body 102 defines a cutout 108 that has a distal portion 110, a proximal portion 112, and a restriction 114 positioned between the distal and proximal portions 110 and 112, respectively, of the cutout 108. In aspects of the disclosure, the restriction 114 can be defined by protrusions 116 that extend from the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 into the cutout 108. Alternately, it is envisioned that the restriction 114 can be formed in a variety of different manners.

The body 102 of the shipping cover 100 defines a longitudinal axis “X” (FIG. 4B and includes resilient tabs 120 that extend downwardly from the lower surface 106 of the body 102 and define engagement surfaces 122 (FIG. 9 ). The tabs 120 extend downwardly from longitudinally extending outer edges 122 of the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 to a position below the lower surface 106. As described in further detail below, the tabs 120 include laterally extending engagement portions 120 a that engage the cartridge body 22 to secure the shipping cover 100 to the cartridge body 22.

The body 102 of the shipping cover 100 includes a central longitudinal rib 126 that extends downwardly from the lower surface 106 of the shipping cover 100. The central longitudinal rib 126 is received within the central knife slot 32 of the cartridge body 22 when the shipping cover 100 is secured to the cartridge body 22 to proper align the shipping cover 100 on the staple cartridge 20.

The body 100 of the shipping cover 100 includes a resilient latch 130 that extends from a distal end of the central longitudinal rib 126 upwardly through the cutout 108 defined in the body 102 of the shipping cover 100. In aspects of the disclosure, the latch 130 is supported in cantilevered fashion to the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 and includes a downwardly extending portion 132, and upwardly extending portion 134, and a living hinge 136 that interconnects the downwardly and upwardly extending portions 132 and 134, respectively. The downwardly extending portion 132 is received within a distal portion of the central knife slot 32 of the cartridge body 22. In aspects of the disclosure, the living hinge 136 of the resilient latch 130 is received within an opening 138 (FIG. 10 ) defined in the bottom of the cartridge body 22. The upwardly extending portion 134 of the latch 130 extends upwardly from the living hinge 136 through the cutout 108 and includes a finger engagement member 140 and a locking surface 142. In aspects of the disclosure, the locking surface 142 includes a shoulder that defines a plane that is substantially parallel to a plane defined by the tissue engaging surface 22 a (FIG. 3 ) of the cartridge body 22. In aspects of the disclosure, the upwardly extending portion 134 is movable from a latched position (FIG. 10 ) to an unlatched position (FIG. 12 ) by pressing on the finger engagement member 140 of the resilient latch 130 to release the shipping cover 100 from the staple cartridge 20 as described in further detail below. The resilience of the latch 130 normally positions the latch 130 in the latched position. In aspects of the disclosure, the upwardly extending portion 134 of the latch includes ribs 134 a that interact with the restriction 114 of the cutout 108 to retain the latch 130 in the unlatched position (FIG. 14 ).

The body 102 of the shipping cover 100 includes a distal portion having an extension 141 that extends distally from the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22 when the shipping cover 100 is secured to the cartridge body 22. The extension 141 over hangs a distal tapered portion 22 b (FIG. 10 ) of the cartridge body 22 and is positioned to be grasped by a clinician to assist in the removal of the shipping cover 100 from the cartridge body 22 as described in detail below.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate the shipping cover 100 secured to the cartridge body 22 of the staple cartridge 20. When the shipping cover 100 is secured to the cartridge body 22, the lower surface 106 of the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 is positioned in juxtaposed alignment with the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22 such that the central longitudinal rib 126 and resilient latch 130 of the of the shipping cover 100 are received within the central knife slot of the cartridge body 22. The shipping cover 100 is pressed towards the cartridge body 22 until the lower surface 106 of the shipping cover 100 contacts the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22. As the shipping cover 100 is pressed towards the cartridge body 22, the tabs 120 on the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 flex outwardly over side walls 144 of the cartridge body 22. When the tabs 120 pass over the side walls 144, the laterally extending engagement portions 120 a of the tabs 120 flex inwardly into engagement with a shoulder 146 (FIG. 9 ) to secure the body 102 of the shipping cover 100 to the cartridge body 22.

The central knife slot 32 defined by the cartridge body 22 of the staple cartridge 20 has a distal end defined by a blocking portion 150 (FIG. 10 ) of the cartridge body 22. When the resilient latch 130 is inserted into the central knife slot 32 of the cartridge body 22, the upwardly extending portion 134 of the resilient latch 130 engages the blocking portion 150 of the cartridge body 22 and is deformed proximally to allow the latch 130 to pass into the central knife slot 32. When the locking surface 142 of the latch 130 passes by the blocking portion 150 of the cartridge body 22, the resilience of the latch 130 moves the upwardly extending portion 134 of the latch 130 back to the latched position (FIG. 10 ). In the latched position, the locking surface 142 is engaged with an underside of the blocking portion 150 of the cartridge body 22 to prevent removal of the latch 130 from within the central knife slot 32 of the cartridge body 22 to retain the shipping cover 100 on the cartridge body 22.

The combination of the tabs 120 and the latch 130 retains the lower surface 106 of the shipping cover 100 in close opposition to the tissue engaging surface 22 a of the cartridge body 22 to prevent the staples 24 (FIG. 3 ) from projecting from the cartridge body 22 during shipping and storage of the stapling cartridge 20.

FIG. 11 illustrates the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 as the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 are inserted into the cavity 18 of the channel member 16 of the cartridge assembly 12. As illustrated, the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 are slid proximally in the direction of arrow “A” into the cavity 18 and thereafter pressed downwardly onto the channel member 16.

FIGS. 12-14 illustrate removal of the shipping cover 100 from the cartridge body 22 of the staple cartridge 20 after the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 is properly received within the cavity 18 of the channel member 16. Once the staple cartridge and cover assembly 21 is properly received within the cavity 18 of the channel member, a clinician can move the resilient latch 130 from the latched position (FIG. 10 ) to the unlatched position (FIG. 12 ) by pressing the finger engagement member 140 in the direction of arrow “B” in FIG. 12 . Pressing on the finger engagement member 140 in the direction of arrow “B” causes the upwardly extending portion 134 of the resilient latch 130 to pivot towards the downwardly extending portion 132 about the living hinge to move the locking surface 142 of the latch 130 from the latched position beneath the blocking portion 150 of the cartridge body 22 to the unlatched position spaced from the blocking portion 150 of the cartridge body 22.

When the resilient latch 130 is moved to the unlatched position (FIG. 12 ), the upwardly extending portion 134 of the latch 130 moves within the cutout 108 from the distal portion 110 through the restriction 114 to the proximal portion 112. When the ribs 134 a on the upwardly extending portion 134 of the latch 130 are positioned within the proximal portion 112 of the cutout 108 (FIG. 14 ), the restriction 114, e.g., the protrusions 116, prevent the latch 130 from returning to the latched position (FIG. 10 ).

When the latch 130 is retained in the unlatched position (FIG. 12 ), the extension 141 on the distal portion of the shipping cover 100 is grasped by a clinician and moved in the direction of arrow “C” in FIG. 12 to lift the latch 130 from the central knife slot 32. Once the latch 130 is removed from the central knife slot 32, the shipping cover 100 is slid in the direction of arrow “D” in FIG. 13 to remove the shipping cover 100 from between the anvil 14 and the cartridge assembly 12. The tool assembly 10 is now ready to treat tissue.

Persons skilled in the art will understand that the devices and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are non-limiting exemplary aspects of the disclosure. It is envisioned that the elements and features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary aspects of the disclosure may be combined with the elements and features of another without departing from the scope of the disclosure. As well, one skilled in the art will appreciate further features and advantages of the disclosure based on the above-described aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described, except as indicated by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shipping cover comprising: a body defining a longitudinal axis and having an upper surface, a lower surface, a proximal portion, a distal portion, and edges that are parallel to the longitudinal axis, the body defining a cutout, the lower surface supporting a latch that extends from the lower surface along the longitudinal axis and upwardly through the cutout, the latch movable within the cutout from a latched position to an unlatched position.
 2. The shipping cover of claim 1, further including flexible tabs extending downwardly from the edges of the body, the tabs each including a laterally extending engagement portion.
 3. The shipping cover of claim 1, wherein the cutout includes a distal portion, a proximal portion, and a restriction, and the latch includes an upwardly extending portion that is received in the distal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the latched position and is received in the proximal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the unlatched position.
 4. The shipping cover of claim 3, wherein the restriction is dimensioned to retain the latch in the unlatched position.
 5. The shipping cover of claim 4, wherein the restriction is defined by protrusions extending from the body into the cutout.
 6. The shipping cover of claim 1, wherein the lower surface supports a longitudinal rib that extends downwardly from the lower surface and is aligned with the longitudinal axis.
 7. The shipping cover of claim 3, wherein the latch includes a downwardly extending portion that is coupled to the lower surface of the body of the shipping cover and a living hinge interconnecting the downwardly extending portion and the upwardly extending portion.
 8. The shipping cover of claim 7, wherein the upwardly extending portion supports a finger engagement member that is positioned above the upper surface of the body.
 9. The shipping cover of claim 1, wherein the distal portion of the body includes a distal extension.
 10. The shipping cover of claim 1, wherein the latch is formed of a resilient material and is biased towards the latched position.
 11. A staple cartridge and cover assembly comprising: a staple cartridge including a cartridge body, staples, and pushers, the cartridge body defining a central knife slot and staple receiving pockets positioned on each side of the central knife slot; and a shipping cover releasably coupled to the staple cartridge, the shipping cover including a body defining a longitudinal axis and having an upper surface, a lower surface, a proximal portion, a distal portion, and edges that are parallel to the longitudinal axis, the body defining a cutout, the lower surface supporting a latch that extends from the lower surface along the longitudinal axis and upwardly through the cutout, the latch movable within the cutout from a latched position to an unlatched position, wherein the latch is received within the central knife slot of the cartridge body and engages the cartridge body in the latched position to retain the latch within the central knife slot.
 12. The staple cartridge and cover assembly of claim 11, further including flexible tabs extending downwardly from the edges of the body, the flexible tabs each having a laterally extending engagement portion that engages the cartridge body to secure the shipping cover to the cartridge body.
 13. The staple cartridge and cover assembly of claim 11, wherein the cutout includes a distal portion, a proximal portion and a restriction and the latch includes an upwardly extending portion that is received in the distal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the latched position and is received in the proximal portion of the cutout when the latch is in the unlatched position.
 14. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 13, wherein the restriction is dimensioned to retain the latch in the unlatched position.
 15. The staple cartridge and cover assembly of claim 14, wherein the restriction is defined by protrusions extending from the body into the cutout.
 16. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 11, wherein the lower surface supports a longitudinal rib that extends downwardly from the lower surface into the central knife slot of the cartridge body.
 17. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 13, wherein the latch includes a downwardly extending portion that is coupled to the lower surface of the body of the shipping cover and a living hinge interconnecting the downwardly extending portion and the upwardly extending portion.
 18. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 17, wherein the upwardly extending portion supports a finger engagement member that is positioned above the upper surface of the body.
 19. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 11, wherein the distal portion of the body includes a distal extension.
 20. The staple cartridge and cover assembly claim 11, wherein the latch is resilient and is biased towards the latched position. 